WHO IS HE? Armando Perez. International recording artist, king of the term “Dale” and Miami native.

WHY DOES MIAMI LOVE HIM SO MUCH? Because he’s Miami through-and-through. His first major label album is named after the city and before he was writing World Cup anthems and known as Mr. Worldwide, he was Mr. 305. He got co-signs from Uncle Luke of 2 Live Crew fame and Lil’ Jon at the peak of crunk music’s heyday, even before artists like Rick Ross and DJ Khaled broke out into the mainstream. He hasn’t forgotten those roots even as he’s risen to global fame and Dade County will always appreciate him for it.

WHAT ELSE HAS HE BEEN UP TO? He’s also the founder of the Sports and Leadership Management (SLAM) Academy, a charter school in the heart of Little Havana that also has a location in West Palm Beach.

FUN FACT: One of his first verses was on an Uncle Luke song called “Lollipop” back in 2001. The lyrics are pretty NSFW, so maybe plug in your headphones first.

We’ll be rolling out more entries in the Miamipedia, but we know there’s stuff we haven’t thought about. Hit reply and let us know or hit us up at [email protected] to let us know about any other suuuper Miami terms, phrases and people we should include. Until then, you can check out the previous installments here.

Shady business. Back in June, when the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority asked county commissioners to approve a 14-mile southwest extension of the 836 expressway, the agency presented 5,000 postcards expressing support for the plan as proof of widespread public support, and only 20 against it. But the agency left out two minor details: that postcard didn’t include an option to oppose the extension, and $125,000 in toll funds went to paying for the postcard campaigns around each vote.  (Miami Herald)

Searching for answers. The death of 41 dolphins this summer off the coast of southwest Florida has prompted a federal investigation into the red tide algae bloom that has been plaguing the Gulf of Mexico for months now, causing poisoning and deaths among all types of marine life. NOAA has declared similar dolphin die-offs (aka unusual mortality events) four times before, most recently in 2006, but it’s TBD how much of a long-term impact this will have on the dolphin population. (Miami Herald)

Crazy Joe strikes again. City of Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, aka “Crazy Joe,” has been in office less than a year, and, being totally on brand, he’s already the subject of a county ethics commission investigation. The subject is his apparent vendetta against Bill Fuller, the owner of Little Havana’s Ball & Chain, who supported Alfie Leon, Carollo’s opponent in the last election. Carollo’s former aide was pretty straight up when investigators asked him if Carollo was using city resources to attack Fuller. “In my opinion, yes,” the former aide said. (Miami New Times)

Money talks. The day after Andrew Gillum won the Democratic primary for governor, he was mentioned on TV so many times that the exposure was the equivalent of $3.8 million worth of commercial ad time in Florida alone, and $23.5 million nationally. All that exposure helped him bring in $3 million in donations between the election and Sunday. Meanwhile, DeSantis has been pretty quiet on the airwaves, other than to insist that he isn’t a racist. (POLITICO)

But… As Gillum gets more screen time, he’s going to face lots of questions about the FBI investigation into possible corruption in Tallahassee City Hall during his time as mayor. He insists he’s not being investigated and the investigation doesn’t appear to center on Gillum, but little information is available, and former FBI agents say a case like this one is unlikely to be resolved before Election Day, which means voters will have to believe Gillum when he says he’s not the target. (Miami Herald)

Always prepared. Local techies might recognize the woman front and center in this article about companies who are marketing egg freezing to women in their 20s: SoFlo health tech entrepreneur Jennifer Lannon, who launched  Freeze.Health, a tool to help women compare their egg freezing options. Lannon is one of many entrepreneurs across the country seizing on 20-something women’s growing interest in taking control of their reproductive choice with “fertility preservation.” (NYT)

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY.

But if you haven’t yet gotten your selfie with the Umbrella Sky Project, you better get on it. The colorful art project will be packed up and sent on to the next city on Sept. 16.

– The New Tropic